Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Learning Curve



I've loved being behind a camera since I was young. Even as a teenage, I wanted to make photography my career until my Dad told me I'd have to be as good as Ansel Adams to really make a living at it. Recently someone said they don't like to take pictures because they like to truly experience life instead of view it from behind a camera lens. To me, capturing the moment on film makes the moment last that much longer in my mind.
But I'm learning that the more I learn about different aspects of photography, the more I have to learn about photography. I recently emailed a friend about some different photography questions that I've had because I think he's one of the most talented photographers I've had the privilege of knowing. He answered my questions and then ended the email saying, "There are rules in photography, sure. But some of the most innovative imagemakers break those rules on a regular basis. Photography is not the same as bookkeeping. It's art, and it's beauty is totally subjective." It was reassuring to an aspiring photographer to learn that, although there are rules, it's subjective to a certain extent. This gives me certainty when I'm looking at the pictures I've taken or looking at other people's pictures for that matter.
I'm excited to continue learning new things in this field. I've already learned so much since picking up my Dad's camera last June but, like most things, I still have SOOOO much left to learn!

Monday, January 23, 2012

OK, so I figured out the new style of pics but it's a pain so I may limit pictures until I can figure it out. Anyway, we got our first "big snow" last night/today. We woke up to a few inches this morning and then it snowed off and on throughout the day. P has been asking to make a "chinnuck" snowman for a week now so we took him out to make one. Then Rob tried to show him-unsuccessfully-how to make a snow angel. We topped off the snow fun with a snowball fight. Although it was snowing by the time we went in, it wasn't super cold outside. P stayed warm with all his new snow gear on and absolutely loved his time outside. By the end of the week the snow will most likely be gone so we had to enjoy it while we could. The best part? Hot cocoa and marshmellows when we came inside!


No Bueno

For some reason our blog will no longer allow me to post pictures. It started with the fire pictures Thursday and no matter how much I mess with it, I can't resolve the issue. Today I messed with it long enough to really mess it up. Now it's not a fun format to blog on. So, I may be creating a new blog site. I'll keep ya posted!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Calm Anxiety

What an oxy-moron, but it's how I'm feeling right now. Today, after only being on the market for 2 weeks, we received an offer on our house. I personally thought it would take longer than that just to get an offer. I'm sure it'll take awhile to jump through the hoops or the buyers may back out so I'm not holding my breath but as of now it looks like we'll be moving sooner rather than later.
The weird thing is that I'm filled with a calm anxiety. I have spent months praying during sleepless nights about selling our house and moving. I've felt nothing but calm about it since we made the decision to do so. The anxiety is from thinking about the magnitude of packing the house, moving everything and then unpacking it all. It's been done before and it'll be done again but it's always something that makes me anxious until it's behind me.
I am excited about moving. Don't get me wrong. There are things I love about our house such as the views from every room, the neighbors, how quiet and dark it is at night, how safe I feel here, the wilderness that surrounds us, the photography opportunities on a daily basis. But there are things I'm excited to be done with such as the water system, the wind, the inconvenience of where we live, all the rocks and dirt. I'm excited that P can finally learn how to ride a trike, how he'll have a real backyard to play in, how going to the park won't take forever, how we'll be close to places and friends, how I'll be able to for a quick run much easier than I can now.
All in all, it's a good thing. It'll just be a better thing once the packing, moving and unpacking is behind us. I like change but I don't like to be unsettled....hence the calm anxiety.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

president?

well, we are down to 3 choices for president. mitt romney the mormon, newt gingrich the scumbag, and ron paul. i believe ron paul is the best of the 3 due to his business sense, but i do not think he has a snowball's chance in hell of winning. the attitude " anything is better than what we have" may be true, it sucks that is the way it is. i love my country but i really dislike our government. i believe it was thomas jefferson who said a country is governed best that is governed least. i couldnt agree more. i wish we had a man/woman who would stand up there and say they want to get us out of debt, they want to restore faith in the country, and that they believe in the principals set by the forefathers. we are in a heck of a mess here and i just dont see it getting any better anytime soon. they are trying to take away our 2nd amendment, take God out of everything, and turn our government into a political mess. while my wife and i do not always agree on politics, i think we both agree somethings got to change. im pretty much an idiot when it comes to finances and the way things are done in washington, but i believe i could do a better job than what who we have in office now. i do know that you dont get out of debt by borrowing money. you dont spend money you dont have, and you certainly dont make it harder for people to live. stop importing things, that will cause us to spend more money here and will create jobs, stop sending money all over the world when we need to be spending it here, and stop trying to micro manage the people. although we owe people, there are several countries that owe us trillions of dollars. i wouldnt give another nickle till i got all of it back. i dont know, maybe im wrong about all of this but i do know that they arent right about any of this. just my 2 cents

Going Through Hell

I have been trying to post pictures that I took of the fires ever since I wrote this blog but for some reason it's just not going to happen tonight. So look back at it tomorrow after 5(ish) and hopefully the pictures will be posted them. Just an update: It's 9:30PST and we're doing fine up on "our" mountain.


Some states deal with hurricanes. Others have to contend with earthquakes. We have destructive wildfires and this year we've had way more than usual. The wildfires burn thousands of acres and many homes. It turns people's lives upside down. On a minor level, considering all things, even allergy sufferers like me have difficulty breathing. It affects so many!
Earlier this afternoon I thought I smelled smoke but I didn't think much of it until my principal came over the intercom and announced there was a fire in the south end of town. By the time the bell rang, Rob was calling to ask me to get home ASAP because of how fast the fires were spreading. It's crazy to think we're having wildfires in the middle of January. We should be dealing with feet of snow, not scorched land.
On my way home I felt like I was driving through hell. I've never witnessed a fire that close, where I could literally see the flames jump. I was stuck in traffic for almost an hour but it gave me an opportunity to take pictures of the ever growing fire. As of this moment in time, we don't need to worry about anything other than power outages. It could be so much worse for us but my thoughts and prayers are with those that have lost homes, animals, etc. How sad to be dealing with this all over again!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Clouds


Every photographer has something or many things that they like to photograph. For me I like to take pictures of flowers, barns, farm equipment (or old equipment), trees, sunrises/sunsets and clouds. On the way home this afternoon I'm sure P was getting frustrated because I kept stopping to take pictures of the gorgeous clouds that surrounded us. Here are some of the clouds we saw from our back deck and from our drive home. I wish I could've captured their true beauty even more because the clouds were breathtaking!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Chuck E Cheese or Bust....

Rob wanted pizza for dinner and since it's supposed to snow most of this week I suggested Chuck E Cheese so P could get some energy out before he's cooped up for a few days. We headed down the hill (I can't wait til I don't have to say that anymore!) to the fun times that laid ahead. Once we got there, P was running around, trying to find the games and rides he wanted to use his tokens on. Surprise, Suprise that his favorite game is a new train set that hands out tokens just for controlling the train around the track. Rob was just like a kid as well, trying to earn tickets and bragging that he made the highest score on the NASCAR game that had been recorded. Surprisingly P took a break from the fun to enjoy a slice of (rather good) pizza. After the pizza and tokens were gone we counted our tickets. I counted out 60 tickets, meaning P could get the lizard he had had his eye on. But when Rob put the tickets through the machine it only came up as 51 tickets (I know I'm not good at math but I know how to count to 60 so I don't know what the discrepancy was). Rob felt bad that P couldn't get the lizard after I had hyped it up so he dumped more money in the token machine then ran around, trying to get tickets while P and I waited in line (Yes, there was a line on a Tues. night). Come to find out, we didn't need to buy any more tokens. The lady would've let us have the lizard with 51 tickets. But, oh well. We don't go to CEC often and it was a fun family outing.
Once we got home, I realized that P has watched Rob and I use the treadmill this week and now knows how to turn it on. So, I guess we didn't need to go to CEC afterall. P can get his cooped up energy out that way. :)

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Why, God??

Awhile back I blogged about not understanding cancer. Well, the other question I'm going to ask God someday is why He feels the need to take babies or why some are born with disabilities. A co-worker and friend of mine was pregnant with her first baby. One Monday the doctor discovered that the heartbeat wasn't as fast as it should be. After an emergency c-section on Tuesday, she gave birth to little Matthew, weighing 2.7 pounds. Although he was born 8 weeks early he was breathing on his own and eating from an eye dropper. The doctors all expected him to make it. But, yesterday Jesus decided to take little Matthew into His arms. My friend is beside herself and I can't even imagine their agony!
Awhile ago, another friend found out, to her dismay, that she was pregnant . She and her husband already have 4 kids and were completely happy with their family as it was. A few months into her pregnancy she found out that her baby girl has spinal bifida and water on the brain. She has 20% chance of ever walking on her own or having bladder control. My friend is going to San Francisco at the end of the month to help increase the baby's chances of living a "normal" life by undergoing major surgery. She's stressed out with all the complications and statistics of her baby's life and rightfully so.
As some of you know, Rob and I have been trying to have another kid for well over a year to no avail. It's days like today that I thank God that I'm not pregnant instead of going through the pain and suffering my friends are with their little ones. I am not strong enough to handle the things my friends are dealing with. I don't understand and, yes, it makes me mad truth be told, for God to allow little innocent ones to suffer and die. It also makes me thankful that we are able to enjoy the life of such a happy, healthy toddler who has brought us joy unimaginable!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Mr. Mom

Rob got to stay home with P today, our new Thursday schedule. It was nice to be able to just get ready in the morning without worrying about getting a toddler ready as well. In fact I got ready so early I just sat there, looking for things to do before I had to leave. Rob was extremely helpful while being Mr. Mom! Not only did he and P have a fun day together but he was able to run an errand for me, wash the dishes, put away the dishes, fold the towels, make an important phone call and make the main course of dinner. After we finished eating he proceeded to clean up the dishes. It was so nice to come home to this after working a longer day than usual (Working longer was actually nice as well because I got a lot done). He seemed to enjoy being Mr. Mom and I appreciated all that was done! A win-win all the way around!!!

More SD pics

I uploaded and edited the last of our trip pics last night. Since I'm dragging my feet on getting ready for work this morning I thought I'd add a few more pics that I took with my little point n shoot. Enjoy!




Tuesday, January 10, 2012

San Diego

One of my favorite things to do when I get back from a trip is to look at and edit the pictures I've taken. But, with only one day to get everything done this week I didn't get to all 600+ pictures that I took.
It was a fun filled trip with my parents, brother and sister in law. The highlight of the trip was our day at the SD Zoo. P seemed to like chasing the birds the best. :) As always, we crammed a lot into the trip (my favorite way to travel!). Here are a few from the trip that I like the best from what I've looked at so far.....









Tuesday, January 3, 2012

From Lemons to Lemonade

The moment I woke up this morning I set to work. I wanted to get all my "chores" done around the house so I could take P to the Children's Museum. After my shower, I got him dressed, his teeth brushed, his cup filled with juice and grabbed a handful of snacks, ready for a fun morning together at one of our favorite places......only to discover that we hadn't taken the carseat our of Rob's truck and he was at PT. So, I talked P into going for a walk since it's so warm out (I had on short sleeves...in Janurary!!). We explored the neighborhood and he collected sticks and rocks. He's discovered he can put things in his pockets and still have his hands free for more collecting. So that's exactly what he did- stuffed his pockets with rocks and held the sticks in his hands. At one point a truck drove by and, in a friendly greeting, blew his air horn. It scared P half to death but he was a big boy and didn't cry. The only downfall to the walk was that Ruby got me dirty and P created his own mess by climbing everything he could. I guess that's the sign of a good exploration walk though, right? Now that we're home I'm getting ready to vacuum and P is bringing in firewood. We're not forecasted for cold weather for at least the next 10 days so I doubt we'll be building a fire but I'll be the last to discourage him from doing a chore I'm not fond of. It's been a fun, unexpected morning and I hope you're enjoying your morning as much as we are!

Monday, January 2, 2012

New Year camping??


The weather is unseasonably warm so when our friend asked us to go camping with him, his wife and a group of their friends we agreed. We pulled our campers in to Walker River Resort Friday night and enjoyed a wonderful weekend together with 8 other families. Both of the boys enjoyed the outdoors for endless hours and I enjoyed taking pictures of it all. All of us enjoyed our time making new friends, catching up with "old" ones and spending time with everyone. It was the perfect way to bring in the new year! Here are a few pictures from the weekend in our beautiful surroundings with great friends......